Probing the Interaction of Precursors with the Chloroplast Import Machinery

虽然前体蛋白被认为以未展开的构象运输到植物叶绿体中，但最近的发现表明这个问题远未解决。本文将探讨蛋白质输入叶绿体的机制，并在蛋白质输入过程中监测前体蛋白的构象。对当地环境敏感的荧光探针将用于监测底物蛋白质在叶绿体进口机制中被捕获时的构象，并确定进口发生的通道的大小限制。利用固定大小的金颗粒探索叶绿体进口机制的上限。更广泛的影响：一个名为“加州大学戴维斯分校分子生物学奖学金”的项目将邀请两名来自西萨克拉门托河城高中的大学生参加这个项目，在资助期内的两个夏天，每个夏天参加为期四周的项目。学生将由他们的AP生物老师提名，并将在四周内完成项目。当地高中学生将在春季学期参加他们的生物技术课程实习，而青年学者计划的学生将有机会在夏季参与这个项目。

While precursors proteins were thought to be transported into plant chloroplasts in an unfolded conformation, recent discoveries indicate that this question is far from settled. The mechanism of protein import into chloroplasts will be probed and the conformation of precursor proteins will be monitored as they are being imported. Fluorescent probes that are sensitive to their local environment will be used to monitor the conformation of substrate proteins as they are captured in the chloroplast import machinery and to determine the size limits of the channels through which import occurs. The upper size limit of the chloroplast import mechanism will be probed using gold particles of fixed sizes.Broader impacts: A program entitled "Fellowships in Molecular Biology at UC-Davis" will bring two college-bound students from the River City High School in West Sacramento to participate in this project for four weeks during each of the two summers of the funding period. Students will be nominated by their AP biology teachers and will work on projects that can be completed in four weeks. Local high school students will be hosted for their Biotechnology class internship during the spring quarter, and a Young Scholars Program student will have the opportunity to work on this project during the summers.